Real Estate Investor · Geneva, IL · Member since 2010 · 82 posts · 29 votes
We bought a house with a Child Support Lien on it from the state of Illinois. On our other homes with certain liens on them we have always been able to negotiate the lien down or have the title company insure over a judgment. I'm pretty sure our title company won't insure over the Child Support lien but was wondering if anyone has ever successfully negotiated down this type of lien.
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
16y
Sorry, but if there's one type of lien I do not think should be negotiated, this is it. This isn't money owed to the feds or some bank. This is money owed to a mom or dad to take care of their child.
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
16y
Sorry, but if there's one type of lien I do not think should be negotiated, this is it. This isn't money owed to the feds or some bank. This is money owed to a mom or dad to take care of their child.
Real Estate Investor · Geneva, IL · Member since 2010 · 82 posts · 29 votes
16y
Jon,
I 100% can appreciate your comment but i'm going to have to disagree here. I have read a lot of your posts and from what I can tell you seem to be the most knowledgeable person about finances and real estate. My arguments:
A: I have a little one too that I'm trying to take care of at thats money out of my pocket for him (the cute little guy in the Hawkeye Jersey), obviously hes my #1 priority right now.
B: I'm not asking them to forgive the judgment they have against him/her just the lien against the property he no longer owns. They can go after him/her with many other methods. Including if we wants to ever buy another house again in this county he will have to payoff that lien first and wage garnishment.
C: I honestly don't feel its our responsibility to hand over our money because someone is a dead beat mother/father.
D: I'm a republican
You are right they should go after the dead beat with any method they see fit. Lucky enough for the children that are victims to dead beat fathers/mothers one of the forms that may be sought is a lien against property that that person may hold. Whether it be a bank account or a home.
You see they have gone after this person as seen fit by the laws of the state and applied a lien to what is owed for child support.
If this is eating into your profit margin then you as any other investor/buyer have the right to make your own decision and suck it up and take it like a big boy, or walk away.
Real Estate Investor · Geneva, IL · Member since 2010 · 82 posts · 29 votes
16y
Your right we knew about the lien before we bought it and will pay it if we have to. Of course we are going to try and negotiate it down. If we are unsuccessful at least we gave it a try. Its worth a few phone calls. I will keep you posted how it goes.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Not all child support judgments are reasonable, either. I know a woman who is quite wealthy who is suing her ex several years after their divorce for child support. This is in spite of the fact that the marital settlement already provided for it. This is in California so in all likelihood she will get something out of it.
Our government and judicial systems are totally out of control. The assumption that any judgment or bureaucratic decision is morally valid is simply not realistic.
If child support arrears are now a lien, then they had to be made into a CIVIL judgment by operation of law on the date it was due or after it was due. Therefore, this child support is taxable income and is considered a common CIVIL debt dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
I agree, Jon. But you got politics / morals into it when you made a normative argument in response to the OP's question. I agree that we should stick to the real estate aspect of it and not get into those things.
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by MBCrosby:
...
You see they have gone after this person as seen fit by the laws of the state and applied a lien to what is owed for child support.
If this is eating into your profit margin then you as any other investor/buyer have the right to make your own decision and suck it up and take it like a big boy, or walk away. ...
The proceeds from the sale of the property are supposed to go towards satisfying any obligations of the owners...
You bought the house subject to that existing encumbrance, so the title insurer is certainly going to list that as an exception, so at some point payment will have to be made.
The lien just might get released if a partial payment can be negotiated - but the nature of this creditor leads me to believe that they will want to take it from what you are hoping to net as profits.
I'd be very surprised if you can close escrow without the lien being paid off.
You say you knew about it, so you should be expecting to pay it. Ill is sure different from my state if they let you out of paying it.
If the person who is to receive the payment is ignorant, maybe you can talk them into taking less. Then you are in the position of some lawyer getting a hold of her/him, and coming after you later. Don't think they can't.
You are the Evil Expert Real Estate Investor/ Snidely Whiplash and you took advantage of some poor poverty stricken single parent by misrepresentation. Don't think they can't. Juries eat that stuff up.
@Bryan Balk how was this resolved? did you end up paying the whole judgement? I don't understand why you were held responsible for this lien since child support liens are junior to 1st mortgage. Also, we the child support lien against the property that was purchased or a blanket lien under the dead beat parents name?
Old post but bottom line is each chould take care of their business as they see fit. I see no reason to mix emotions in business. It's only about money.